Silver Cross Hospital Recertified as a Primary Stroke Center

Posted by tsimons, Community Contributor

Posted by tsimons, Community Contributor

Community Contributor tsimons

Silver Cross Hospital has once again earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Heart-Check mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers. The Gold Seal of Approval® and the Heart-Check mark represent symbols of quality from their respective organizations.

Silver Cross underwent a rigorous onsite review in June 2017. Joint Commission experts evaluated compliance with stroke-related standards and requirements, including program management, the delivery of clinical care and performance improvement. Established in 2003, Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers is awarded for a two-year period to Joint Commission-accredited acute care hospitals. The certification was derived from the Brain Attack Coalition's "Recommendations for the Establishment of Primary Stroke Centers" (JAMA, 2000) and the "Revised and Updated Recommendations for the Establishment of Primary Stroke Centers" (Stroke, 2011).

"By achieving this advanced certification, Silver Cross has thoroughly demonstrated the greatest level of commitment to the care of its patients with a complex stroke condition," says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president and CEO, The Joint Commission. "Certification is a voluntary process and The Joint Commission commends Silver Cross for successfully undertaking this challenge to elevate the standard of its care for the community it serves."

"We are pleased to receive advanced certification from The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association," said Paul Pawlak, President and CEO of Silver Cross Hospital. "The Silver Cross Neuroscience Institute is dedicated to preventing strokes, and this certifications provides us with the framework to create a culture of excellence, and to continually strive to advance our care even further."

Stroke is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

"Our goal is to make sure that every patient receives the right treatment at the right time," says Dr. Kathleen McCahill, Medical Director of the Silver Cross Stroke Program. "The concepts behind Primary Stroke Centers include a heightened state of readiness for stroke patients, making sure hospital-wide mechanisms are in place to rapidly identify and intervene in acute stroke, and a multi-disciplinary team who can deliver rapid and sophisticated care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."

Silver Cross is one of the few hospitals in the area offering advanced technologies to extend the treatment window for stroke up to 8 hours. Neuro interventional radiologists and neurosurgeons are available to treat strokes in the hospital's state-of-the-art biplane angiography suite.

"This advanced technology allows for an even greater level of safety for patients by cutting the normal procedure length and radiation exposure in half," says Dr. Harish Shownkeen, Medical Director of the Neuro Interventional Program at Silver Cross. "And, patients don't need to go anywhere else to recover."

Silver Cross Hospital's partnership with The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) ensures patients will receive an unmatched recovery experience close to home. RIC has been ranked the "Best Rehabilitation Hospital in America" by U.S. News and World Report every year since 1991. Patients benefit from RIC at Silver Cross' inpatient rehabilitation unit as well as four outpatient facilities-at the hospital, Homer Glen, New Lenox (Route 30) and West Joliet. To learn more about the Silver Cross Stroke Program, visit www.silvercross.org/neuro.

About Silver Cross HospitalSilver Cross Hospital is an independent, not-for-profit health care provider serving Will County and southwest suburban communities since 1895. Silver Cross has been recognized as a Truven Health Analytics 100 Top Hospitals National Award winner for seven consecutive years, a Hospital of Choice by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers and was honored with an "A" Hospital Safety GradeSM by The Leapfrog Group for five consecutive periods. With over 4,200 employees, physicians and volunteers, Silver Cross operates a 302-bed acute care hospital and 5 satellite facilities providing outpatient services and physician offices. Silver Cross opened a state-of-the-art replacement hospital in 2012 at I-355 and Route 6 in New Lenox. In 2016, Silver Cross provided over $37 million in charity care and other community benefits. To learn more about Silver Cross Hospital or a referral to a physician on staff, visit www.silvercross.org. Physicians on Silver Cross Hospital's Medical Staff have expertise in their areas of practice to meet the needs of patients seeking their care. These physicians are independent practitioners on the Medical Staff and are not the agents or employees of Silver Cross Hospital. They treat patients based upon their independent medical judgment and they bill patients separately for their services.

About The Joint CommissionFounded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission accredits and certifies more than 20,500 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including hospitals and health care organizations that provide ambulatory and office-based surgery, behavioral health, home care, laboratory and nursing home services. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. The Joint Commission has two nonprofit affiliate organizations: The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare aims to solve health care's most critical safety and quality problems and Joint Commission Resources (JCR) provides consulting services, educational services and publications. Joint Commission International, a division of JCR, accredits and certifies international health care organizations. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.

About the American Heart Association/American Stroke AssociationThe American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association are devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke- America's No. 1 and No. 4 killers. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based American Heart Association is the nation's oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. The American Stroke Association is a division of the American Heart Association. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit heart.org or call any of our offices around the country. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

The familiar Heart-Check mark now helps consumers evaluate their choices in hospital care. Each mark given to a hospital is earned by meeting specific standards for the care of patients with heart disease and/or stroke. The Heart-Check mark can only be displayed by hospitals that have achieved and defined requirements set by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. For more information on the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Hospital Accreditation Program visit www.heart.org/myhospital.

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